More

Cardinals Arrive in Boston After 7-Hour Flight Delay

Game Five of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) – As if heading back to Fenway Park down 3-2 wasn’t bad enough, the St. Louis Cardinals were flightless for seven hours Tuesday night.

The club left Busch Stadium around noon to catch the flight to Boston but mechanical issues on their Boeing 767 significantly delayed their trip, leaving the club stuck on the tarmac at Lambert Airport.

Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny and pitcher Michael Wacha held a press conference with reporters already in Boston while sitting on the plane.

“There’s another plane en route in case they can’t get this one to where it needs to be,” Matheny said. “But right now everybody is just kind of waiting around and anticipating either this plane to get fixed or another one to show up, so we can get on our way.”

The team eventually changed planes, flew out of St. Louis around 8 p.m. and arrived in Boston around 11 p.m. local time.

“It’s unfortunate that it took as long as it did,” Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said shortly after the plane arrived in Boston. “Obviously, you prefer to get into your hotel in much earlier hours but I think you deal with these things. That’s one of the things that you don’t realize or sometimes take for granted but these things happen.”

“The mood on the plane was extremely positive [and] patient,” Mozeliak said. “I think everybody wanted to get the thing going but everybody knew it is out of their control and so rather than complain, I think people just tried to buy time the best that they could and ultimately we’re here.”